Organized by the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, College of Charleston School of the Arts
June 13–August 25, 2013
MMA Pacific Street
Motoi Yamamoto is an internationally acclaimed contemporary Japanese artist from Hiroshima, Japan, who creates elaborate, site-specific installations made entirely out of salt. Often in the form of large-scale labyrinths or aerial projections of typhoons, Yamamoto takes one of the earth’s oldest, most sought-after mineral elements to cover the entire gallery floors during a two-week residency at the Monterey Museum of Art—Pacific Street location. Traditionally used as a symbol for purification and mourning in Japanese culture, the artist’s use of salt emanates from a powerful personal experience in working through the death of his sister. His artwork is rooted in themes of life, death, and rebirth, and his process with salt has helped him cleanse his grief.
The public will have an opportunity to watch Motoi create his installation during his residency, as well as interact with him in the galleries. A series of drawings and photography will also accompany the exhibition.
The closing of the exhibition on August 25, 2013, offers another important participatory experience with the opportunity for visitors to participate in the dismantling of the salt artwork.
Exhibition schedule:
June 5-13, 11 am: Open to the public during regular museum hours.
Come observe and interact with the artist during the process of his installation.
June 13, 6:30-8:00 pm: Opening Reception. Members Free Preview. $10 Non-members
Celebrate the completion of the installation and meet the artist.
August 25, 1-2 pm: Closing Community Ceremony, Return to the Sea
Come gather together in the galleries for a unique participatory experience to wipe away the installation and return the salt to the sea.
2 pm: Community walk from the MMA-Pacific Street to the Monterey Commercial Pier (Municipal Wharf II)
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Image: Motoi Yamamoto, Forest of Beyond, salt, The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Kanagawa, Japan 2011. Photo: Makoto Morisawa. Courtesy of the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, College of Charleston School of the Arts.
July 5-November 17, 2013
MMA La Mirada
July 5, 2013: Open to the public to view the mural in process
July 12, 2013, 6-8 pm: Opening Reception
Andrew Schoultz is a San Francisco-based artist who creates monumental public wall murals, paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media installations. He generates a high-energy impact with an overpopulation of meticulous renderings and controversial themes that resonate with cataclysmic force. Schoultz’s imagery is furious and fantastical yet deeply rooted with American historical symbols and contemporary metaphors that create a vortex of political and environmental commentary. His influences merge 15th century German map making and 14th-15th century Persian miniature paintings, juxtaposed with highly-stylized graffiti and street art.
Andrew Schoultz will create a site-specific installation and mural on the walls of the Jane and Justin Dart Gallery at the Museum’s La Mirada location, based upon the local histories of Monterey, and present his wildly gilded Fallout installation in the McCone Gallery.
In Process is an exhibition series that focuses on current work by a contemporary artist. Each installment in the series will feature 10-25 works by the artist and will frequently include ephemeral, site-specific installations. In Process will chart the most current developments in the field of contemporary art by championing the work of emerging and mid-career artists.
Image: Andrew Schoultz, Mayhem, 2007, acrylic, ink, and collage on paper, 84 in. by 84 in., Collection of the Frederick R.Weisman Foundation, Los Angeles
June 12–October 27, 2013
MMA Pacific Street
Lucas Blok is a Monterey-based artist who has a long-standing fascination with color. His paintings are mesmerizing experiments in visual perception as he works with vibrant and intensely saturated hues that become a unique participatory experience for each individual viewer. His neon blues, greens, hot pinks and brilliant yellows pulse with rhythm and create an optical buzz as he paints dominant shapes and highly precise geometric patterns across his large canvases.
Blok was recently awarded the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant for 2011-2012, which recognizes and generously supports his artistic merit as a professional artist over a significant period of time.
Image: Lucas Blok, Untitled, 10/4/2002, acrylic on canvas, courtesy of the artist
River/Mountain/Sea
November 20, 2013-March 23, 2014
MMA Pacific Street
David Ligare is one of California’s most preeminent contemporary realist painters. His work is celebrated for its delicate luminescence and heightened attention to detail in his depictions of nature. He describes himself as a neo-classic artist, saying, “I believe in the value of recognizing the integrity of the thing seen, that is, in representing every element of nature as carefully and reverently as I can.”
This Monterey Now exhibition will center on the artist’s large-scale panoramic work depicting three of Monterey’s geographical highlights: its major river, mountain, and the ocean. These new works, created especially for the exhibition, will be displayed in a contemplative setting to highlight their historical and cultural significance and to emphasize their spiritual impact. The exhibition will also include a selection of his small scale preparatory studies.
Image: David Ligare, River, 2012, oil on panel, courtesy of the artist © David Ligare 2013
The Monterey Museum of Art is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.